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Ned Bear

Native Artist

Ned Edward Bear (1954–2019) was a Wolastoqiyik / Plains Cree sculptor, artist, educator, and cultural visionary.

Born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Bear was the son of Albert and Rebecca (Paul) Bear. In his eight or ninth year he became interested in carving after watching an Elder from his community working with wood.

Eventually he became the first Indigenous student to graduate from the New Brunswick College of Craft & Design. He also studied at the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College (now First Nations University), Nova Scotia College of Art & Design, and later attained a Bachelor of Education from the University of New Brunswick.

Throughout his career, Bear was known especially for mask carvings — many of them in butternut or yellow birch, which he often embellished with horsehair, bear fur, and leather. Drawing on traditional Cree beliefs about the origin of the universe, these carved Pawakan (spirit-guides) were Ned's way of intersecting the spirit world with our conceptions and interpretations of the material world around us. His exhibition, Shaman’s Quest: The Masks of Ned Bear showcased many of these themes.

Ned also carved Pawakan faces in living trees as a first step in relationship with that particular tree, in that particular location. In the literature accompanying Mosom Maskwa -- Pawakan, a 2012 show at The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, curator Shannon Parker wrote: "Unlike his masks which have a point of completion, the Pawakan carved in living trees are continually changing. It is this metamorphosis that fully embodies the energy of his carved masks, imbued with the energy and spirit of a living thing that interacts with the carving to create a whole new work of art. It is not just a carving, it is a living performance that will continue for the life of the tree and beyond."

Bear also worked extensively as an educator and cultural leader. He served as Director of Education for his First Nation, taught Native art and culture, acted as a curator, juror, and guest speaker. He won the Face the Nation competition in 2006 at the UC Davis Design Museum, and was awarded a Smithsonian Institute Fellowship in 2005.

Ned Bear passed away on December 24, 2019, in Fredericton, New Brunswick.